If you’ve ever been to the Space Within yoga studio in Muswell Hill, you might’ve spotted a few famous faces on the walls – and one very famous torso! It was my dad, Donald Silverstein, who was responsible for that now-iconic image of Jimi Hendrix. He took lots of other photos during that shoot, too – but until recently, they’d never been seen by the public…

Donald Silverstein’s iconic image

For most of his career, Dad worked as a fashion photographer, and his images were often used on the cover of Vogue. But he also worked with a number of musicians.

The Donald Silverstein Experience!

Back in 1967, he did a shoot with Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – a.k.a. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. One of the images from that session is now known the world over, after it was used on a poster sold by Track Records – it’s the one featuring Jimi wearing an open shirt, exposing a lean torso, and looking typically cool.

‘Can you see me?’

Of course, this now-iconic image wasn’t the only photo taken that day. Dad had a huge collection of prints and negatives from the shoot, which were never used commercially. As a family, we held them close to our hearts and homes for a long time after dad’s death in 1975. But in recent years, we agreed that it was time to share these hidden gems with the rest of the world.

At Bayeaux, London, getting dad’s images printed!

So we did two things: we worked with London’s Snap Gallery to create a collection of previously-unseen limited-edition prints, which were then put on sale; and we collaborated with London-based clothing company, Organik Rocka, to produce a t-shirt, featuring one of dad’s lesser-known images of Jimi.

It was the first time it had ever been printed on material, and we still get a thrill when we see someone wearing the t-shirt – especially when it’s someone like Johnny Nelson (yes, the Johnny Nelson – as in the longest reigning cruiserweight world boxing champion of all time!), who’s proudly wearing dad’s image of Jimi across his chest – check out this Instagram post!

‘Hey Joe’, where d’ya get that… t-shirt?

We’re now looking forward to seeing a few more of these limited-edition t-shirts being worn, because Organik Rocka has just printed another run! If you want one (and why wouldn’t you?), you can buy direct from their website.

I’ve still got a handful of very special limited-edition prints of some of the other photos my dad took during his shoot with Jimi, too – please feel free to contact me personally, if you’re interested in buying one.

If you missed the Space Within Handstand Challenge for All Abilities, GOOD NEWS – our 10-day handstand prep sequence is all here, in this handy blog! Whether you work through each ‘day’ as though you were doing the challenge, adding a little extra to your practice sequence step by step, or start practising the entire sequence on a regular basis, you’ll soon be on your way to safe and strong handstands.

DAY 1: STRONG FOUNDATIONS

Today’s handstand prep is all about creating strong foundations and pelvic stability by applying a ‘lower abdominal lock’. A whaaaat??? Watch the video and note the following, before having a go yourself:

The breath slowly moves through the nostrils and into the belly

As the inhale continues, the breath moves from the belly into the chest

The exhale is slow and at the end, the lower abdomen contracts

For the second inhale, the lower abdomen is still contracted (it’s ‘locked’) – this makes the rib cage expand and the chest lift, but not the belly

Try to get used to breathing with the lower abdomen ‘locked’, first as shown in the video, and then whenever you’re doing your handstand exercises. Keep the breath smooth and steady. If you’re familiar with ujjayi breathing (the ‘darth vader’ breath!), it can be helpful to use it in conjunction with a lower abdominal lock.

Now let’s look at how the ‘pelvic stability’ you’ve established fits into the overall alignment of a handstand. You can add the following two exercises to your daily handstand prep practice.

1 – DEVELOPING ALIGNMENT. Lie on your back with your feet flexed and take your arms overhead, so you’re pressing them against the wall, like in the photo. Engage your core by ‘locking’ the lower abdomen like we did yesterday – this helps to align your feet, hips and shoulders. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself upside down – this is what a stable handstand feels like!

2 – OPENING THE SHOULDERS. Now roll up and come into a comfortable sitting position. Put your arms in ‘cow-face pose’, either linking the hands behind your back, or if they don’t touch, holding the top elbow with the opposite hand and gently drawing the elbow back and down. Take several long breaths here, then switch sides. This exercise will help to open your shoulders so you can develop the correct alignment for your handstand practice.

DAY 3: CORE STRENGTH

The focus here is on core strength – something which is described very neatly by the Collins English Dictionary as, “the strength of the underlying muscles of the torso, which help determine posture”. A strong core is essential for a well-executed handstand, too.

We can strengthen our core in many ways, including the following two exercises:

1 – NAVASANA – this posture, also referred to as ‘boat pose’ is a yoga classic and a great core strengthener. Start with the version in which the knees are bent, then try it without holding the back of your knees. Only straighten your legs if you can maintain the shape of your upper body at the same time (ie. If you slump, go back to the easier version). Repeat 3 – 5 times, holding each one for 5 long breaths.

2 – SUPINE LEG LIFTS – not strictly a yoga pose, but definitely a good exercise for strengthening the core, along with the muscles which will eventually help you to lift into handstand with straight legs! Start with the easier version – lie down on your mat and slowly lift and lower one leg at a time – and only progress to both legs if you can lift and lower smoothly and without holding your breath! Repeat x 10.

DAY 4: CORE & ARM STRENGTH

Now it’s time to build on yesterday’s core strength exercises with a classic core strength posture: PLANK – and its sister pose, SIDE PLANK.

1 – PLANK: Whether you have your knees on the floor (half plank) or not, make sure your knees, hips and upper back are aligned – no sagging down or lifting your bottom too high! And be sure to stack your shoulders over your wrists, to minimise the stress on the joints. Press into your hands and lift the space between your shoulder blades, whilst simultaneously drawing the chest forward. Now push back through your heals and feel your core engage! Hold for up to 30 smooth breaths, then come into child’s pose and rest.

2 – SIDE PLANK: Starting in plank, as above, bring your feet together then roll onto one side. Again, aim to maintain a straight line through the torso – ask someone to tell you, or practice in front of a mirror. And as before, stack your shoulders over the supporting wrist. Finally, gaze up to the top hand. If this is too hard to hold, you can put your top foot on the floor (knee bent), behind your bottom leg.

DAY 5: SUN SALUTATIONS

Time to add some dynamic movement to your handstand prep! If you’re already familiar with this sun salutation, then feel free to do the Chaturanga > Upward Facing Dog version. Otherwise, follow the video, applying everything we’ve covered so far, which includes:

Before starting, apply a lower abdominal lock (and use the ujjayi breath if you know how)

Avoid letting your shoulders come up to your ears when lifting your arms, when in downward dog, and when in cobra

Keep a straight line from your knees to the crown of your head as you lower from half plank, and keep your elbows tucked in

Align the shoulders and wrists, and the feet and hips in downward dog, to reduce the stress on the joints

One last, very important, point: if you’ve got tight hamstrings, BEND YOUR KNEES when you’re folding forward and in Downward Facing Dog, so you can maintain a straight spine.

Practice the sun salutation a few times, without focusing too much on when you breathe, then, once you’ve got the hang of the sequence, inhale and exhale as indicated in the film. Repeat 5 x every day, after you’ve done the previous day’s exercises.

There’s no such thing as a safe and steady handstand without shoulder strength and stability. So how do we create it? Well, it’s all about conscious positioning and the activation of the muscles which support the entire shoulder area.

When we lift our arms, the shoulders want to rise up too. In downward dog, we often compensate for a lack of strength by rolling the shoulders inward. And when we move into cobra, it’s common to slump into the shoulders, letting them snuggle up to our ears. All this might feel easier – but keep it up, and nothing will feel easy, just really tense.

Today, practice the following postures, taking your lead from the film below, and you’ll build the strength to maintain a safe and stable shoulder position in these postures and, importantly, in handstands:

2 – Replicate that action in Downward Facing Dog – outwardly rotate the upper arms, but this time, simultaneously pushing through the forefingers and thumbs too (creating a slight inward rotation of the lower arms).

3 – And when you rise into cobra, maintain the space around your neck by sliding the shoulder blades down.

DAY 7: GETTING STRONGER!

Even if you don’t have time to do all of last week’s handstand prep exercises first, be sure to do yesterday’s drills. Becoming familiar with a stable shoulder position is crucial to a strong and safe handstand – as you’ll see when you apply those same techniques to today’s exercise:

Plank gives us an opportunity to practice bearing weight, in preparation for a full handstand, and by transitioning to downward dog in between, we remind ourselves to maintain a healthy shoulder position.

If you’re unable to hold full plank without either lifting your bottom up or sagging down, do half plank instead – it’ll be way more effective (it’s basically the same posture, but with a some support from the knees – straight line between head and knees if doing half plank, or head and heels if full).

Try to hold your plank position for up to 20 seconds, before moving into downward dog for 10 seconds. Afterwards, come into child’s pose and rest for a minute or so, before slowly coming up to a kneeling position.

DAY 8: UPSIDE DOWN!

Throughout the Space Within Handstand Challenge for All Abilities, we’ve been working on our strength, flexibility and alignment. Now, it’s time to start practising being upside down!

This exercise will also continue to build on those three essential elements of strength, flexibility an alignment, so be sure to add it to your handstand prep routine (ie. All the daily exercises we’ve covered so far!).

HOW TO…

Find the right spot for your hands by sitting with your back straight against the wall and noting where your heels are. Now get up and place the heels of your hands there instead.

With your hands firmly planted on the ground, ‘walk’ your feet up the wall until you come into an upside down ‘L’ shape – ask someone to check that your feet are level with your hips and your hips are aligned with your shoulders (mine is, in fact, a little wide – told you I’m still learning, too!)

Now you’re in the posture, press firmly into both of your hands and both of your feet as you lift your hips up toward the ceiling. Hold for around 30 second to begin with, working up 90 seconds to two minutes.

DAY 9: PREPARING FOR LIFT-OFF!

Now you’re familiar with being upside down, and have built the strength for holding yourself up, it’s time to hone your technique for getting there without walking your feet up a wall! And the perfect exercise for this is the ‘L-hop’…

Come into standing splits (doesn’t have to be perfect!!), with your hands about 40-50cm in front of your standing foot

Now lower the top leg so that it’s at a right angle with your standing leg (ie. Parallel with the floor)

Bend the knee of the standing leg and start doing some gentle hops – nothing too dramatic, just enough to get a feel for the amount of effort required for coming all the way up

Be sure to try on the other side, too – you’ll soon get tired of using the same leg, and who knows, the other side might be easier!

Practising L-hops is a great way to continue developing arm and core strength, whilst also working towards lifting into a handstand.

DAY 10: FINDING BALANCE

The final piece of the jigsaw, when it comes to handstands, is balancing and for that, we need to find our CENTRE OF GRAVITY!

To start with, it’s best to practice against a wall (as I am in the video below) and from there, it’s possible to explore how and where to distribute your weight.

That’s not all there is to think about, however – we’re also putting into practice all the lessons we’ve learnt so far – after all, these are the very things that will help us to remain balanced, once we’ve found our centre of gravity.

Establish a strong core – engage the lower abdominal muscles

Take long, smooth inhales and exhales

Align the wrists, shoulders, hips and ankles – as in the floor version we started practising on Day 2

When you come down, take a moment in child’s pose to let your blood pressure come back to normal, before attempting another handstand.

After practising for a while, you’ll be able to hop up into a handstand (see Day 9) and find the same point of balance. But for now, it’s worth working against a wall or with a partner.

If you’ve been following this handstand prep plan and know someone who’d enjoy it just as much, or if you want to send it to a friend and work through the steps together, use the social media share buttons below! And let us know how you’re progressing – tag @spacewithin_ on your Instagram photos, or post your pics and videos on our Facebook page!

If you’re looking for a handstand challenge for all abilities – beginner, improver or intermediate – you’ve just found it! Hurray!

We’ve all seen those photos and films of yogis, Calisthenics and CrossFit folk effortlessly floating up into handstands, no supporting wall (or flailing around!) in sight. And, naturally, we’d all love to be able to do the same. But the fact is, most of us don’t all have the required strength – we’re not even close.

The good news is, that doesn’t mean we can’t begin building up to handstands – and it definitely doesn’t mean our efforts won’t be as satisfying or enjoyable as standing on our hands.

Read on to find out how you can get involved!

The Space Within Handstand Challenge for all abilities – a shared journey

The cactus spikes gave me an incentive to free-hold!

Our 12-day online handstand challenge will be a shared experience – the emphasis is on learning together, sharing tips, offering mutual support, and enjoying the journey, even if we don’t all achieve a full handstand by the end.

I’m not doing badly; I can kick up, and I’ve even started holding it away from the wall for a few brief seconds (head over to @spacewithin_ on Instagram and you’ll find a film I did in Lanzarote – against a lovely bright white wall!). But I’m still a way off my end goal, and there’s some room for improvement in my alignment. So I’ll be right there doing this challenge with you!

Where, when and how

The Space Within Handstand Challenge begins on Monday 16th July and ends on Friday 27th 2018. During that time, our Instagram posts will give you a new preparatory pose to add to your routine each day, so you can build up gradually and safely. It also means you’ll have a full practice sequence, which you can continue to use long after the challenge has ended! There’ll be some supporting material on our Facebook page, too, so make sure you’ve ‘liked’ the page before the challenge begins.

What to expect

We’ll be working on everything from the finer details, such as how to use the breath and bandhas to create extra stability in the body, to all the major muscle groups, with strengthening exercises for the core, shoulders, arms and legs. We’ll be covering other important aspects of working towards handstands too, like wrist warm-ups, safe alignment, and how not to do a handstand.

Bonus tips & tricks!

We’ve contacted a few people whose handstand practice has really impressed us and asked them to share their tips and tricks as we progress through the challenge. This means that on certain days, you’ll get your daily Space Within exercise to add to your routine, and you’ll also be able to head over to our partners’ pages for more exercises of the same sort!

Come on in, make yourself at home!

Join the Space Within community!

Throughout the challenge, we’d love you to post your own photos and films, as you follow each stage of the challenge – mentioning @spacewithin_ (and any of our partners who’ve inspired you) and using the hashtag #spacewithinhandstandchallenge.

This will allow the Space Within community to encourage and support each other. Remember, this is a handstand challenge for ALL abilities, so don’t feel shy – and definitely don’t think you can only post something if you’re able to do a handstand. The whole point of this is that we learn and grow together.